The electrochemical behavior of the anti-thalassemia and anti-HIV replication drug, deferiprone, was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) at a platinum electrode. In an acetate buffer solution, pH = 4.0, two irreversible anodic peaks for deferiprone, with E(0)1 = 875 mV and E(0)2 = 1235 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) appeared at a potential sweep rate of 50 mV s-1. Cyclic voltammetric study indicated that the oxidation process is irreversible and diffusion-controlled. The diffusion and the electron transfer coefficients of deferiprone were found to be 3.50 × 10-6 cm² s-1 and 0.57, respectively. A sensitive, simple and time-saving differential pulse voltammetric procedure was developed. Using our proposed method, deferiprone can be determined with a detection limit of 1.43 × 10-5 mol L-1. The applicability of the method to direct assays of spiked human serum and urine fluids, and to commercial tablets, is described.
deferiprone; anti-thalassemia drug; platinum electrode; iron chelator; HIV-1 replication inhibitor
